Radioisotopes are becoming increasingly useful in various scientific and medical fields. Many radioisotopes are currently used for research techniques such as radiolabeling for detection and monitoring purposes. In the medical field, numerous radionuclides are used for a variety of diagnostic and treatment techniques.
New immunotherapy techniques are currently being developed for treatment of various forms of cancer. Such techniques can include using a nuclide to label an antibody targeted to a tumor, thereby utilizing the labeled antibody to deliver the nuclide to the tumor site. The emissions generated by radioactive decay of the nuclide label can thereby be more selectively localized to the tumor site relative to other methods of radiotherapy.
In many techniques that utilize radionuclides, it can be desirable to utilize nuclides capable of generating alpha emissions. For example, nuclides that emit alpha particles of relatively high energy can be desirable for immunotherapy applications to maximize localization of decay emissions for the selective destruction of tumor cells while minimizing damage to surrounding tissues.
Although radioisotopes are becoming increasingly useful, it is often desirable to maximize purity of the nuclide prior to its ultimate use. However, desired radionuclides are often generated in very small quantities within other materials from which the nuclide must be separated. It is therefore desirable to develop methods of separating isotopes from source materials.